Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Like queer studies and men's studies, it originated in the interdisciplinary program women's studies (concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics). Its rise to prominence, especially in Western universities after 1990, coincided with the rise of deconstructionism.Disciplines that frequently contribute to gender studies include the fields of literature, linguistics, human geography, history, political science, archaeology, economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, cinema, musicology, media studies, human development, law, public health, and medicine. It also analyzes how race, ethnicity, location, social class, nationality, and disability intersect with the categories of gender and sexuality.In gender studies, the term gender is often used to refer to the social and cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity and not to the state of being male or female in its entirety. However, this view is not held by all gender theorists. Simone de Beauvoir's is a view that many sociologists support (see Sociology of gender), though there are many other contributors to the field of gender studies with different backgrounds and opposing views, such as psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan and feminists such as Judith Butler.[clarification needed]Gender is pertinent to many disciplines, such as literary theory, drama studies, film theory, performance theory, contemporary art history, anthropology, sociology, sociolinguistics and psychology. However, these disciplines sometimes differ in their approaches to how and why gender is studied. In politics, gender can be viewed as a foundational discourse that political actors employ in order to position themselves on a variety of issues. Gender studies is also a discipline in itself, incorporating methods and approaches from a wide range of disciplines.Each field came to regard "gender" as a practice, sometimes referred to as something that is performative. Feminist theory of psychoanalysis, articulated mainly by Julia Kristeva and Bracha L. Ettinger, and informed both by Freud, Lacan and the object relations theory, is very influential in gender studies.
Background: Gender disparities in agricultural water management persist globally, yet context-specific evidence from Pakistan remains limited. This study investigates the systemic barriers to gender equity in water governance in District Okara, Punjab, which is a critical agricultural region due to its highly fertile land, extensive canal irrigation system, and significant production of key crops and livestock. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating: (i) a quantitative survey of 402 households (ii) a qualitative gender analysis of national and provincial water policies, and (iii) stakeholder consultations with government departments and Water User Associations (WUAs). Results: The findings reveal a profound disconnect between women’s labor and their decision-making power. Despite contributing 3–4h of daily agricultural labor, only 3% women involved in of on-farm decisions. Policy analysis shows the National Water Policy 2018, and provincial water acts i.e, Punjab Water Act 2019 & KP Water Act 2020 are gender-blind. Institutional barriers are evident, with women in WUAs often serving as “ silent observers ” and 92% of women requesting flexible training formats to overcome time poverty, exemplified by their 15–30 min daily water collection burden. Conclusion: Gender-blind policies, socio-cultural norms, and institutional constraints collectively sustain women’s exclusion from water governance. Transformative change requires enforceable gender quotas in WUAs, awareness and literacy programs and gender-responsive trainings targeting institutions and WUAs. These interventions are essential for advancing inclusive, SDG-aligned water management in Pakistan and comparable contexts, ensuring equitable access, resilience, and sustainable resource use.
This article examines the choice-making possibilities offered to intended parents by Russia-based surrogacy agencies on their websites. Drawing from agential realism, it approaches surrogacy as a market relation, with websites reflecting the modes of practicing surrogacy. I argue that choice frames surrogacy as a commodity. To foreground the effects of "choice" as a structuring mechanism, the concept of "responsibility" is used. The analysis shows that the proliferation of choice diminishes the surrogate's ability to respond, as choices are enabled only through the colonization of the surrogate's time, body, and labor. In Russian commercial surrogacy, choice acts as a structuring mechanism and reinforces asymmetrical power relations. This analysis contributes to feminist communication scholarship by demonstrating how "choice" infringes on women's bodily autonomy within the context of assisted reproductive technologies and cross-border fertility mobilities.
This study is devoted to identifying and analyzing the psychological factors that cause emotional strain during adolescence. Adolescence is considered a particularly complex stage of personality development, characterized by a mismatch between biological maturation, psychological changes, and social demands, which leads to emotional instability and internal conflicts. The empirical part of the study involved 120 adolescents aged 13–16, whose levels of state (reactive) and trait (stable) anxiety were assessed using the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) adapted by Ch. Spielberger and Yu. L. Khanin. The results indicate that the majority of adolescents demonstrate moderate to high levels of anxiety, confirming that emotional strain is a widespread phenomenon during this developmental period. In addition, the nature of family relationships was found to have a statistically significant impact on adolescents’ emotional strain, with higher anxiety levels observed among those raised in conflictual family environments. The findings highlight the multifactorial nature of emotional strain in adolescence and emphasize the importance of comprehensive psychological support, preventive measures, and family–school cooperation to enhance adolescents’ emotional stability and stress resilience.
